Executive Summary: Broadcasting

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) performed a demographics analysis on
the broadcasting industry. The industry was defined as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
major group codes 483 (radio and television) and 484 (cable and other pay television). Major
group 483 was further divided by SIC codes 4832 (radio) and 4833 (television). The study
focused on demographic changes reflected in EEO-1 reports from large establishments (1,000 or
more total employees) during 1995-2000 for four occupational groups: officials and managers,
professionals, technicians, and sales workers. The demographic groups examined were women
and three race/ethnic minorities: blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Comparisons were drawn with
two sets of occupational data derived from the 1990 Census. The first set included key
occupations found in broadcasting, but taken across all industries. The second set included those
occupations found within the broadcasting industry. For both sets, the occupations were
combined into the four occupational groups described above.

Employees within the industry for the four occupational groups are mostly white. The technician
and officials and managers occupational groups are predominantly male. In 2000, males had slim
majorities in professional and sales worker jobs.

Minority representation (the three principal groups and "other" minorities) for the large
establishments exceeded 1990 Census levels throughout 1995-2000 in three of the four
occupational groups. It fluctuated for sales, possibly because this is a relatively small but growing
occupational group.

Women's representation during 1995-2000 was generally above 1990 Census levels for one
occupational group (officials and managers), below for one group (technicians), and mixed for
two (sales workers and professionals). For the latter two occupational groups, women were
generally represented in the large establishments above 1990 levels for key occupations within
Broadcasting, but below 1990 levels for key occupations across all industries.

For officials and managers, minority representation grew from 14.9% in 1995 to 16.5% in 2000.
This was slightly below the high of 16.8% reached in 1998. Women increased their
representation from 40.8% to 41.6%. Minority and women representation during this period was
consistently above 1990 Census data levels. Blacks were the largest race/ethnic minority group,
with representation around 9% from 1998 on.

Minorities made up 22% of professionals in 2000, compared to 17.1% in 1995, and above the
1990 Census comparisons. Women increased their representation from 46.5% to 49.3% during
this period, but still slightly lagged their representation in the 1990 Census data for key
occupations across all industries.

Minority representation for technicians increased from 23% to 30.6%. Blacks accounted for
much of the increase. Representation for women fluctuated and was essentially the same in 2000
as it was in 1995, and below the 1990 Census comparison levels.

For sales workers, minority representation showed uneven growth and had a 2000 level (29.8%)
lower than the 1995 level (41.8%). As previously noted, sales may be highly volatile in its
demographics because of relatively small size and rapid growth, as well as the small but growing
number of large establishments in Broadcasting. These fluctuating levels during 1995-2000 were
consistently well above the 1990 Census comparison figures. Women's representation in 2000
stood at 48.6%, compared to 48.9% in 1995, with marked fluctuations during the intervening
years. Representation during this period was generally above the 1990 Census level for key
occupations within Broadcasting, but consistently below the 1990 Census level for key
occupations across all industries.

While demographic patterns for large establishments tend to hold for Broadcasting as a whole,
there are relatively few large establishments. In 2000, only three radio establishments out of 547
that filed EEO-1 reports had 500 or more employees. Television and cable, while having more
large establishments, are still mostly local operations. The situation is further complicated for
cable, which has two sub-industries: programming and wiring. Some of the largest cable firms are
involved in both activities with separate divisions, and the data do not make it clear which activity
is tied to a specific establishment. Given these circumstances, demographics in the components of
the Broadcasting industry were described, but no analysis was attempted on specific
establishments.

A brief literature review was conducted to place this study in context with published reports.
Most reports in the commercial media are concerned with the portrayal of minorities and women
in programming, or the demographics of small-number but highly visible occupations: actors,
news anchors, and sportscasters. At least two private organizations have recently-published
studies that concentrate on senior-level managers within the industry. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) at one time collected data similar to that for EEO-1 reports,
but that program was discontinued. The most recently-analyzed data (for cable) dates to 1999.
The FCC has issued various reports pertaining to employment and ownership of stations within
the industry.

Table of Contents

Industry Definition for Broadcasting

For the Broadcasting part of this study, the industry was defined as consisting of Radio and
Television Broadcasting Stations (SIC Code 483), which includes Radio Broadcasting Stations
(4832) and Television Broadcasting Stations (4833); and Cable and Other Pay Television Services
(484). The major group includes companies that furnish point-to-point communications services,
whether intended to be received aurally or visually; and radio and television broadcasting. This
major group also includes establishments primarily engaged in providing paging and beeper
services and those engaged in leasing telephone lines or other methods of telephone transmission,
such as optical fiber lines and microwave or satellite facilities, and reselling the use of such
methods to others. This group does not include establishments primarily engaged in furnishing
telephone answering services. The study also excluded Telephone Communications (481);
Telegraph and Other Message Communications (482); and Communications Services, not
elsewhere classified (489).

Occupational Definitions for Broadcasting

The occupational data from the 1990 Census was contained within the Communications industry
group, specifically the Other Communications (Census Industry Code 048) grouping.

Industry and Occupational Definitions for EEO-1 Data

Establishments with SIC codes 4832, 4833, and 4841, and with 1,000 or more total employees
were selected. Data are reported according to the occupational groups described above. Data
were taken from annual reports spanning 1995-2000. An annual EEO-1 report is legally required
of all private employers who are subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended)
with 100 or more employees. (Educational and certain other private organizations are excluded,
but may have other reporting requirements.) Single-establishment employers file one report.
Multiple-establishment employers with 50 or more employees may be require to file if they are
part of a larger enterprise or engage in specified federal contracting.

1995-2000 annual EEO-1 reports, Radio/Television/Cable and other pay television (SIC
codes 4832, 4833, and 4841, respectively), establishments with 1,000 or more employees;
these are labeled [year] EEO-1 (Broadcasting).

The 1990 Census occupations were grouped to correspond to four occupational groups used in
the EEO-1 reports: officials and managers, professionals, technicians, and sales workers.

The major race/ethnic groups are black, Hispanic, and Asian. Other minorities combined were
less than one percent in any occupational category.

The representation of women and race/ethnic minorities are presented in Figures 1-4. Each figure
contains four charts, each corresponding to one of the four occupational groups. Data are
expressed as percentages of the data source being presented (e.g., percentage of black officials
and managers in the 1990 Census (Occupation) source.) The contents of the figures are as
follows:

Figure 1 presents the two 1990 Census sources and the 1995 EEO-1 data for
establishments of 1,000 or more employees by race/ethnic minority.

The number of establishments with 1,000 or more employees grew from 8 in 1995 to 26 in 2000.
Broadcasting establishments that filed EEO-1 reports had a total of 149,628 employees in 1995.
This number grew to 305,589 in 2000.

For all broadcasting establishments filing EEO-1 reports in 2000, the 26 large establishments had
13% of all the employees. The demographic distribution of the large establishments was generally
comparable to the rest of the broadcasting establishments that filed EEO-1 reports.

For the EEO-1 data presented in the charts, a decline in any race/ethnic or sex group generally
does not mean a decrease in the number of employees. It means that the group was not growing
as fast as other groups to which it is compared.

General

Broadcasting employees in the four occupational groups mentioned above are mostly white.
Technicians and official and managers are mostly male (86.6% and 58.4%, respectively) for large
establishments in 2000. Males comprised a slim majority in 2000 for professional and sales
worker jobs.

Minority representation for the four occupational groups in the large establishments exceeded that
for 1990 Census data and continued to grow during 1995-2000 in three of the four occupational
groups. Minority representation in sales fluctuated during 1995-2000, possibly because this is the
smallest of the four occupational groups being examined and, at the same time, there was
considerable employment growth. Blacks comprised the largest minority group in the industry
and, apart from sales, their representation grew during 1995-2000.

Representation for women in the large establishments during 1995-2000 was above that in the
1990 Census data for officials and managers, with a high of 41.6% in 2000. Women's
representation among technicians was generally below the 1990 Census level during 1995-2000
(under 14% for four of the six years) for the large establishments. Representation during 1995-
2000 in sales and professionals was generally above the 1990 figures for key occupations within
Broadcasting, but generally below the 1990 levels for key occupations across all industries
(53.8% and 69.2%, respectively).

Officials and Managers

Minority representation for large establishments was 16.5% in 2000, above the 1990 Census
levels. Representation for minority groups fluctuated for large establishments during 1995-2000
but always remained above 1990 Census levels. Representation for women was also consistently
above 1990 Census levels.

Professionals

Minority representation in the large establishments was above 1990 Census levels and consistently
grew during 1995-2000 to 22%. Black and Asian representation grew during this period.
Hispanic representation peaked in 1998 at 5.7% and declined slightly in 1999 and 2000.
Women's representation grew throughout the period to 49.3% for the large establishments,
although it remained slightly below the 1990 Census level for key occupations across all
industries.

Technicians

Both the 1990 Census data and the EEO-1 data for large establishments establish this as an
occupational group with high minority representation. The 1990 Census levels were slightly
under 20%. The 2000 EEO-1 level was slightly above 30%. Blacks and Hispanics increased their
representation in the large establishments during 1995-2000. Asians increased their
representation slightly, but peaked in 1997 at 3.5%. Asian representation in the large
establishments was below their 1990 Census representation of 5.5% in key occupations across all
industries.

This is also the occupational group with the lowest representation for women. Across the 1990
Census and EEO-1 1995-2000 data, representation for women is generally 15% or lower.
Women were 15.7% of the technicians in the 1999 EEO-1 data for large establishments. That
figure fell to 13.4% in 2000. At the same time, minority representation increased by three
percentage points. These fluctuations may be due to the overall increase in employees in the large
establishments, from 15,952 (22 establishments) to 18,214 (26 establishments) over one year.

Sales Workers

As already noted, this occupational group is relatively small but growing within an industry that
was growing overall. Minority representation for the large establishments during 1995-2000 was
well above 1990 Census levels, around 40% in some years. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians were
all above their 1990 Census levels, although representation fluctuated during 1995-2000.

Representation for women in the large establishments started and ended during this period at just
under 49%, with sharp fluctuations. Representation in the large establishments was generally
above the 1990 Census level for key occupations in Broadcasting. However, representation was
consistently below that for 1990 Census data for key occupations across all industries (51.7%).

This section provides further detail on the composition of this industry by sub-sector and firm
size. This information is consistent with other characteristics and differences related to
employment by establishments in radio broadcasting, in television broadcasting and in cable.
Because the differences outweigh the similarities, EEOC cannot make refined statistical
comparisons at this time.

With few exceptions, the activities that comprise the broadcast industry do not overlap with each
other in terms of employment opportunities and labor markets. Broadcasters outside major
metropolitan areas do not, other than local news, sports and weather, actually produce the
material they transmit. In many instances, station employees simply replay material obtained from
non-staff sources. While such firms may be more visible to the public because of their broadcast
activity, their employment practices cannot be analyzed in great detail.

Based on EEO-1 data for 2000, 547 radio stations filed annual reports. Only seventeen, or only
three percent, employed more than 250 persons. Only three stations employed 500 or more. Most
employees were either in professional occupations (primarily announcers) or in sales, selling air-
time.

Of the 753 television establishments, only 46, or six percent, employed more than 250 persons.
The six stations employing 1,000 or more persons were either part of media giants or a large
educational network Much station content is either independently produced or originates from
the handful of largest establishments. Consequently the opportunity for employment and
advancement in the occupations under review is limited to the handful of firms operating at that
level.

The cable services section is similar, in that only a minuscule number across the country employ
1,000 or more persons. Most of those establishments are branches of a small number of media
giants. This segment of broadcasting is distinguished by the higher proportion of technicians, and
fewer professional workers. Accordingly, employment is more likely to be at the local labor
market level. No further analysis of cable broadcasters has been done at this time.

A further issue with cable is that it includes establishments that are engaged in programming, and
others that are concerned with delivering programming to consumers. In some cases a large firm
will have divisions engaged in each activity. The SIC classification does not distinguish between
the two.

Methodology

The Charge Data System (CDS) contains information on the bases and issues involved in
discrimination charges filed with the EEOC or state and local agencies. Data for SIC 483 and 484
were obtained and edited for the analysis. Frequency counts were taken for new charges by year
for the primary basis and issue combinations listed in the CDS. The charts provide a summary of
the most frequently cited primary issue/basis combinations by SIC code.

Findings

Within SIC code 483 (Radio and Television), the largest number of charges concern discharge
and constructive discharge of women (Figure 5). Also of note are sexual and other harassment
and demotion charges filed by females. The trend for all of these types of charges is either steady
in number or declining for the period under study.

For SIC code 484 (Cable and Pay Television), the total number of charges has increased
dramatically between 1995 and 2000 (Figure 5). A possible reason for the increase in the number
of charges across this SIC code is the general expansion within the cable industry to include
telephone and internet services as well as traditional cable television services. The most common
issue/basis combination for the Cable and Pay Television sub-industry is "race black" discharges.
Women also filed a large number of charges over this time period, although no particular issue
stands out. Otherwise, the distribution of charges by basis and issue is fairly even across this SIC
code.

The EEOC conducted a brief review of the literature regarding equal employment
opportunity issues in the broadcasting industry. A number of articles were found, but
most dealt with who is seen in programming: how demographic groups are portrayed in
programs, if they are visible at all; or the demographics of highly visible commentators,
such as news program anchors and sportscasters.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had, until 1999, required that
establishments of five or more employees report employee demographics in a way similar
to EEO-1 data.

The National Association of Minorities in Communications (NAMIC) published a study in
1999, A Look Towards Advancement: Minority Employment in Cable. The study
indicated that minorities constituted 16.5% of the officials and managers occupational
group reported by the FCC in 1997. (The figure for large establishments in this report for
1997 is 16.1%.) However, the report indicated that a NAMIC survey found only 5%
minority representation for uppermost management categories (Senior Vice President to
Chief Executive Officer). The study also explored employee perceptions of factors that
helped or hindered career advancement.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania issued a report in
2001, Progress or No Room at the Top? The Role of Women in Telecommunications,
Broadcast, Cable and E-Companies, indicating that women accounted for only 9% of the
board members and 13% of the top executives in communications companies. The types
of firms included telecommunications (e.g., cellular telephones) and print media as well as
broadcasting. In 2002 the Center published The Glass Ceiling in the Executive Suite: The
2nd Annual AAPC Analyses of Women Leaders in Communication Companies. This study
identifies major firms by sub-industry and provides statistics on their women board
members and executives.